How the UK recycles millions of dirty old disposable coffee cups

Apple's Chinese rival Xiaomi goes global with mi.com

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi is preparing to take on the world, and as part of its plan has introduced a more globally appealing and simplified domain name for its website, mi.com. The change of domain was tweeted by ex-Android VP Hugo Barra, who now

Advertisement

Currently the global version of mi.com appears to be simply showcasing Xiaomi's colourful product range, including a 5.5-inch phone called the Redmi Note (we're pretty sure Samsung will have something to say about this).

Xiaomi

According to Xiaomi, the "mi" in both its logo and domain name stands for several things, including mobile internet and mission impossible. Responding to Barra's tweet, one commenter noted that mi also means rice in Chinese, suggesting it could be a metaphor for a Chinese product becoming globally ubiquitous. "I can feel the ambition behind this domain," he said.

Another commenter pointed out the irony that while Xiaomi has mi.com, its rival Apple owns the domain name me.com, which links to iCloud. Xiaomi is sometimes called the Apple of China, and some have put down the American tech giant's lack of success in the country down to Xiaomi's popularity.

Xiaomi launched in Singapore, its first non-Chinese market in February, and although it was relatively under-the-radar outside of Asia, the fact that the company has a dedicated global site where it is beginning to advertise products in English suggests that it was just the beginning of a fast-approaching global rollout.